From the historical viewpoint, when interacting intensely, all cultures undergo one of these three types of processes, which are merging, absorption, and eradication. Modern history as an academic discipline knows many past and present examples of each of these three. There are ancient Greeks and Latins in the Roman Republic, Turks and Byzantines in the Ottoman Empire, the Romans and Celts in Frankia, and the English and French in Canada. Each of these pairs merged equally, giving birth to a new cultural unit. Germany and Bavaria, one of the country’s largest and most distinctive federal states, represent cultural absorption. The Japanese and the Ainu people are another centuries-old case of adoption and integration. Unfortunately, historians, anthropologists, and cultural studies scholars know many examples of cultural eradication. These include the colonization of the Americas, Africa, and Siberia and the Mongol and Arab conquests. For example, “beginning in the late 1800s, Indian children were forbidden to speak their own languages” (Code talkers, n.d., para. 2). Some knowledgeable in world history understand that there is a common pattern.
All the examples presented above are cases of a relatively more immense and aggressive alien culture interacting with a local and smaller one. Humanities experts and scholars know few instances when the latter managed to avoid any of the three outcomes and remain relatively unaffected, autonomous, and creative. Even more tragically, those small ethnic groups that retained cultural independence paid a hefty price for it in people, lands, wealth, and political influence. The United States (US) is home to a multitude of culturally and anthropologically distinct tribes of Native Americans (Arizona Indian communities, n.d.). However, the cumulative contemporary impact on American society is minimal compared to other ethnic groups such as Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian people. Only a few minority ethnic groups have managed to stand unaffected, autonomous, and influential in the contemporary world in terms of culture and tradition, and one of them is the Navajo Nation.
Navajo People’s History
Before the European Arrival in North America
History is an integral part of the culture of any individual and ethnic group, and that of the Navajo people is unique not only in a global context but also in the pre-Columbian one. One interesting fact is that the Navajo tribe is not native to the Southwest region of North America. According to experts, “archeologists think the Navajo reached the American Southwest sometimes after 1300.” (Navajo, 2010, para. 1). Initially, they and another Indigenous nation, namely the Apaches, inhabited the Arctic (O’Brien & Kiffel-Alcheh, n.d.). O’Brien and Kiffel-Alcheh (n.d.) argue that the actual Indigenous peoples of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico are “the Pueblo (PWEB-loh), the Mogollon (moh-guh-YOHN), and the Hohokam (huh-HOH-kum)” (para. 1). Judging by their historical behavior, even when they acted as an alien and aggressive culture, they did not try to merge, absorb, or destroy their neighbors.
It is a very unusual way of ethnic coexistence for any multicultural world area such as Eurasia, America, and Africa. Armed conflicts between tribes took place, but these were raids for food mainly (O’Brien & Kiffel-Alcheh, n.d.). The Navajo tribe only borrowed civilizational concepts from their neighbors, such as stone construction, agriculture, and animal husbandry (O’Brien & Kiffel-Alcheh, n.d.). However, the distinct linguistic, traditional, anthropologic, and ritual differences between the Navajo and other ethnic groups, and their continuing existence, show that none of the three processes happened to them, at least entirely. To this day, Apache tribes remain their closest relatives regarding these cultural parameters.
After the European Arrival in North America
The Navajo Nation successfully maintained its cultural autonomy even after coming into contact with European colonizers and settlers and becoming part of the American state. Although the tribe suffered territorial and human losses in multiple conflicts with the Spanish and Americans, these Native people defended their right to live their way in their already more than half-a-century-old homeland (Navajo, 2010). The only changes in their lifestyle were new economic and manufacturing practices such as mining and relocation. One must note that the latter “damaged the traditional system of pooled family resources and support” after World War II (Navajo, 2010, para. 5). The Navajo quickly identified and acknowledged these negative trends and began to fight back with political tools and initiatives. As one can see, European culture, which has completely transformed the ways of life, religions, and traditions of entire continents, has failed to merge with, absorb, or destroy the Navajo tradition.
Navajo People’s Lifestyle
The lifestyle of the Navajo people is one of the most diverse in the US. They are farmers, ranchers, white- and blue-collar workers, and any other profession in the country (Navajo, 2010). Gathering and hunting remained, but mainly as sports or ritual practices. The types of businesses and entrepreneurship also vary significantly, from cultural tourism to oil and uranium mining. Occupational activities are the only significant cultural and traditional aspect of Navajo society that has undergone significant merging with the European-American lifestyle. These Native people did not allow these to consume them; they applied these innovations to show their culture and tell their history to everyone. “The past is the present” is a phrase that has a positive connotation in Navajo lands (Miller, 2010). The decentralized social system of family bands, clans, and genealogical ties has also survived. However, it is experiencing some crises due to the inexorably growing massive cultural influence of the United States. The American way did not absorb them partially; rather, the Navajo people took over some part of US culture.
Navajos People’s Polytheistic Religion
The native religion of ethnic minorities is another lens that allows one to study their culture and traditions. Theologians claim that the central ideas and values of their beliefs are “harmony, balance, and order” (Navajo, 2010, para. 8). The Navajo believe that their conceptual opposites are “death, violence, and evil” (Navajo, 2010, para. 8). The Navajo Nation relate most of its ritual practices thematically and philosophically to their history and ethnic worldview including their origins, various perceptional dimensions, and natural phenomena. It differs from Indo-European poly- and monotheism, where rules or scripture require worshipers to dedicate rites to deities or heroic figures. As in many other traditional ethnic faiths, the Navajo one reflects such ideas as the dualities of humans and nature, the sacredness of prominent geographical places, and the destined path of a particular individual. Surprisingly, the Christian ideological elements could not penetrate or destroy these people’s authentic faith. Interestingly, the Navajo did not develop any name for their belief system even after establishing relatively positive relationships with members of the Abrahamic religions.
Contribution of the Navajo Nation to the Allied Victory in World War II
Successful preservation of traditions and history, regular celebrations, openness to the world, and a stable, conservative yet adaptive social structure are those cultural and civilizational elements that constitute the domestic and global ethnic influence of the Navajo. However, the trigger for their worldwide fame as an impactful ethnic minority was their aid to the US against Nazi Germany. During World War II, the Navajo represented most of the Code Talkers, a unique subdivision of military communications specialists (Living the culture, n.d.). According to historians, “their job was to send coded messages about troop movements, enemy positions, and other critical information on the battlefield” (Code talkers, n.d., para. 4). The Navajo people directly used a component of their culture, namely language, to influence the course not only of their history but of the world one. Human civilization knows few cases when a living, almost unaffected ethnic culture determines events on a planetary scale, and the Navajo people have achieved this.
Conclusion
This paper explores the phenomenon and nature of the culture and traditions of the Navajo people. This Native ethnic minority has achieved worldwide influence due to its unique, unconventional civilizational path. Over the millennium of their existence, they managed to avoid all three major intercultural processes, which are merging, absorption, and eradication. The cultural and religious resilience of the Navajo Nation, their strong belief in tradition, robust intergenerational bond, and confidence in their historical path have made them a major cultural influencer in today’s world. Moreover, their uniqueness also lies in the fact that they, as a minor culture, could absorb and adopt elements of a larger one.
References
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Code talkers. (n.d.). National Museum of the American Indian. Web.
Living the culture. (n.d.). National Museum of the American Indian. Web.
Miller, M. (2010). Road trip: Navajo and Hopi lands, Arizona. National Geographic. Web.
Navajo. (2010). Cultural Survival. Web.
O’Brien, C., & Kiffel-Alcheh, J. (n.d.). Native people of the American southwest. National Geographic Kids. Web.